Count to ten
by stevieLUVSAlex
Summary: A heated argument... Elliot sayd something nasty... Olivia counts to ten... can she hold her own temper or will she say something to retaliate.    ONE-SHOT... slight E/O love!


_A/N: This one is dedicated to my friend, Bella Girl, who introduced me to this song only VERY recently. I love it. I was listening to it over and over, and thought how wonderfully it fit E&O. I hadn't done an SVU FF in a while, so… here goes nothing =)_

Olivia Benson felt the anger begin to surface as she watched the cocky, arrogance of her partner shine so evidently in his eyes. He _always_ had to be right, when it came to the topic of marriage. Just because she had never been married, didn't mean she was completely clueless when dealing with this subject. After all, Elliot wasn't exactly a guru when it came to marriage and relationships. Kathy had walked away from him more than once during the course of their marriage.

Olivia was almost tempted to throw that in his face.

"Don't spit that crap at me, El!" she shot back. "The woman is clearly being treated like a slave here. We're not living in biblical times…"

This hadn't been the first time they had disagreed on a case.

"The relationship is sour!" he stated matter-of-factly. "What do you know about marriage?"

Olivia's eyes widened as she struggled to control the urge to hit him.

_Whoever said that love is easy, must have never been in love_

_Sometimes it's a land mine, one wrong step and it blows up_

_A word, a look, lights a hidden fuse_

_It's hard to see just what you have, when you're seeing red_

_And it's easy to do something that you know you both will regret_

_Better stop, think, count to ten before I leave_

"If this is your idea of marriage, then I'm glad I haven't found anyone worth settling down for!" she barked. She felt herself beginning to reach breaking point.

"Oh, pull your head in," he growled. "It's about compromise."

"I know what it's about, El. I'm not completely dense."

He mumbled something incoherently under his breath.

_One, I still wanna hate you_

_Two, three, I still wanna leave_

_Four, searching for the door_

_Five, then I look into your eyes_

_Six, take a deep breath_

_Seven, take a step back_

_Eight, nine, I don't know why, we even started this fight_

_By the time I get to ten, I'm right back in your arms again _

"What was that?" she demanded. "Too afraid to say it aloud…"

Elliot Stabler rolled his eyes.

"You need to experience marriage to grasp the facts of what it means to compromise to build, to grow together… you will never know what that's like."

Olivia felt the blow on his words in her stomach. What did he mean by that?

"Because I won't find anyone?" she asked calmly.

He shrugged. "Your words, not mine."

Olivia shook her head in disbelief.

_Words thrown so carelessly like weapons when we fight_

_But when they cut too deep, I wanna leave it all behind_

_That I've to count to ten, before I cross that line_

_One, I still wanna hate you_

_Two, three, I still wanna leave _

_Four, searching for that door_

_Five, then I look into your eyes_

_Six, take a deep breath _

_Seven, take a step back _

_Eight, nine, I don't know why, we even started this fight _

_By the time I get to ten, I'm right back in your arms again  
_

Elliot realized his choice of words, and his expression changed. He didn't really believe that. At times, he wondered what the hell the men in the world were thinking. If he had been single he would have snapped her up a long time ago, she was beautiful woman. But Elliot was a Catholic, he didn't believe in adultery or divorce, both of which he would have to sin against if he allowed his thought to dwell on the beauty of his partner.

"Liv, I…" he began.

She shook her head again, refusing to listen. He had well and truly crossed a line.

"I didn't mean that-" he ran a hand over his head through what little hair God had been kind enough to leave him with, at his age.

"Forget it, El," she said bitterly.

She took a breath, holding back the urge to scream at him. She thought about the consequences, she thought about the situation, she spent a few minutes rationalizing everything that was happening. Olivia looked up to meet his eyes, and her stomach jumped to over-drive. He was stressed, he was irrational. Elliot would never hurt her intentionally she didn't have to rationalize that part, she knew him well enough.

Olivia nodded.

_You can lose what you're not thankful for_

_I don't want that to happen to you and me_

_Better count my blessing_

_One, you still move me_

_Two, three, you send chills right through me_

_Four, you keep me wanted more_

_Five, when I look into your eyes_

_Six, you're my best friend_

_Seven, that will never end_

_Eight, nine, I don't know why, but thank God it happens every-time_

_By the time I get to ten_

_By the time I get to ten_

_I can see how bless I've been_

_I'll choose you all over again..._

"I'm sorry," Elliot said gently.

"I know. It's fine."

"Want to take a break… go get a cup of coffee… cool off?" he suggested.

She smiled. "Yeah, sounds good."

_Damn_, he thought as she walked ahead of him, _she was fine lookin' woman… too bad he was married_.

_I also just finished watching P.C. recently (again) I LOVE that episode, so the "Stabler has the hot's for you" is kind of interpreted in there when Elliot has his POV._

_Was it worth a review… honesty works here… anything you have to say is appreciated. =)_


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